Automatic player for musical instruments.



MEADE. AUTOMATIC PLAYER FOR MUSIGAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLIUATION FILED MAR. 25, 1907.

' Patentad Oct. 24, 1911.

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INVENTOR 7 ATTORNEYS W N ESS ES 1 QWQA QYWA N. G. MEADE. AUTOMATICPLAYER FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

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WITNESSES 1 ATTORNEY- N. e. MEADE. AUTOMATIC PLAYER FOR MUSICALINSTRUMENTS.

APPLIOATiON FILED MAR. 25, 1907. 1,006,669. Patented Oct. 24., 1911.

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1 "1: jlilllmhm I APPLIGATION FILED MAE.25, 1907.

Patented Oct. 24, 1911.

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NORMAN G. MEADE,'OF WILKINSBURG', PENNSYLVANIA,- ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALFJOHN B. GOMSTOCK, OF EDGEWOOD PARK, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC PLAYER FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NORMAN G. MEADE, a citizen of the United States, anda'resident of Wilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny 'and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a. "new and useful Improvement in AutomaticPlayers for Musical Instruments, of which the following is aspecification.

My'in'vention relates to devices for the automatic production of musicand has special reference to automatic players for pianos and likeinstruments.

The object of my invention is to provide a device of the class aboveindicated that shall be simple and durable in construction and thatshall embody improved means for automatically regulating the tempo,touch and pedals of the instrument with-which it is connected.

Automatic piano players have usually 'con 1- prised means for operatingthe piano keys by strikers or hammers, such means being governed by asheet of perforated paper that was passed gradually over a set of holesin the wall of a pneumatic chamber. According to my present invention, 1provide a chamber or hollow cylinder having? a'series of holes in onewall, means for exhausting the air from the-chamber, a series of springcontact members, and pins which are fitted loosely into the holes in thechamber wall and which are adapted to effect the closure of electriccircuits through onev or more of the spring contact members when air orother fluid-pressure is applied to their outer extremities. Thesecontact members correspond in number and relativelocation to the keys ofa piano and several additional contact devices are provided which areadapted to effect the automatic control of the tempo or rate of playing,the operation of the pedals, and the touch, or the force with which theplaying hammers or strikers are actuated. The admission of air-pressureto the chamber is dependent upon a plurality of perforations or holesthrough a sheet or strip of suitable material, such as paper, which ispassed over the chamber, preferably from one roll to another, in'awellknown manner, and additional perforations, as hereinafter explained,are provided for I the control of expression.

Specification of Letters Patent.

-12 is driven from this main sprocket wheels 21 and 22 that are PatentedOct. 24,-

Application filed March 25, 1907. Serial No. 364,531.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which l vFigure 1 is a plan view of an automati piano player constructed inaccordance therewith. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, Figs. 3 and 4 endelevations,and Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 detail views of the device shown inFig.1. Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view of the action and circuitconnections "for a plano and my improved playing device. Referring toFigs. 1 to 8, inclusive,:of the drawings, the device illustratedcomprises a stationary base 1, a vacuum chamber 2, and rolls 8 and 4which .are supported upon the base 1 by a frame 5. This frame consistsof two end brackets or plates 6 and 7 that are bolted to the base, andtie-bolts 8 that interconnect the end brackets. The air is exhaustedfrom the chamber 2 by means of pumps 9 and 10 which comprise oscillatingcylinders and pistons and which are driven by an electric motor 11,through a train of gears, a shaft 12 and eccentric projections l il k fa y a we nown type 0 centri al um or by any other suitable device forexlihusti ing the air from the cylinder. A main driving shaft 14; of themecha-' nism is rotatably mounted in stationary bearings 15 and isconnected to the shaft of the motor 11 bya pinion 16 on the motor shaft,a gear wheel 17 and apinion 18 on a jack shaft 19, and a gear wheel 20which is fixed to the shaft 14 and meshes with the pinion 18, the pinion16 meshing with the gear 17 on the jack shaft. The pump shaft shaft byconnected by a chain 23' and by gear wheels 24 and25, the sprocket wheel22 and the gear wheel 25 being keyed to a rotatable jack shaft 26. Therolls 3 and 4 are rotatably mounted upon shaft projections between theend 95,

brackets 6 and 7,. and spur gear wheels 28 and 29 are attached'tocorresponding ends of the rolls 3 and 4 on the extremities of the shaftprojections which extend through the end frames 6 and 7. A beveled gearwheel 30 is attached to the opposite shaft projection from the'ro'll 4.The longitudinal axes of the chamber 2 and the rolls and 4 aresubstantially parallel. Ode on pumps 9 and 10 may be replaced dricallycurved the outer surfaces of the chamber is of cylindrical curvature andthe position of the rolls is such that when a film or strip is woundover the roll 3, across the .cylinsurface of the chamber 2, and onto theroll 4, a slight downward pressure is exerted against the engagedsurface of the chamber. A screw-threaded rod 31 is rotatably mounted inbrackets 32 that are attached to the end plate 6 and the rotation ofthis rod is effected through a beveled gear wheel 33 which meshes withthe beveled gear wheel 30.

Between the end bracket 7 and the corresponding stationary bearing 15, abell-crank lever 33? is pivotally mounted upon the shaft 14. Thebell-crank lever comprises two arms 34 and 35 substantially atrightangles to each other near the extremities of which sheaves 36 and 37, aspur gear wheel 38, a sheave 39 and a spur gear wheel 40 are rotatablymounted. The sheaves 37. and 39 are connected by a belt 41 orv otherdriving connection, andthe sheave 36 is connected to a sheave 42 withwhich the shaft 14 is provided, by means of a crossed belt 43. Thesheaves 36 and 37 and gear wheel 38 are attachedto the same shaft, so

' in one direction by a inner extremity with that their angular velocityis always thesame. This is also true of the sheaves 39 and the gearwheel 40. Therotation of the bell-crank lever on the shaft 14 is limitedstop 44 which is attached to the end'bracket 7, and it. is constrainedto occupy this extreme position in which the gear wheel, 38 meshes withthe gear whee1'29of spring 45. The jack shaft 26 1s alfixed to the outerextremity fulcrumed" at an intermediate point 26 and has a slot and pin.connection at its the arm 35 ofvthe bellcrank lever 33. The arrangementof parts is such that the gearwheel 25 meshes with the gear wheel 24only when-the arm 35 engages the stop 44. y

An actuating electrom gnet 46, having windings 47 and an armature 48that v1s pivoted upon a pin 49, is attached' to the stationary bracket7, and this armature 1s connected to the, outer extremity of the arm 34of-the bell-crank lever 33 by means of a link 50. When the energized,its armature is ,rotatedthrough a slight angle about its axis and,inconsequence of this movement, the bell-crank lever is rotated inopposition to the sprlng 45 until the gear wheels 38 and 25 are re-'spectively disengaged from the gears 29 and 24 and the gear wheel 40moves into engagement with, the gear wheel 28. When the bell-crank leveroccupies one position, the take up roll, onto which the music strip iswound, is rotated in one direction and the other roll is free to follow.On the contact member in the roll 4 by a helical of a Y lever 26 which'holes inthe plate. :68 and the slots 66 electro-magnet is.

other hand, when the bell-crank lever occupies its opposite position,rotation of the roll on whichthe musicstrip was originally wound iseflected in a reverse direction and the take up roll is free. Thefunction of this portion of the mechanism will be more specificallypointed out hereinafter.

A motor-starting switch 51 is attached to the end bracket 6 andcomprises a movable contact member 52, stationary contact members 53 and54, stops 55, which limit the movements of the member 52, and aspring'56 that tends tokeep the movable its open-circuit position. Theswitch 51 is adapted to be closed by the movable member 58 of a switch57 that closes the circuit of the magnet windings 47 of theele'ctro-magnet 46 when said movable contact arm is moved to engagestationary contact members 59. The arrangement of parts is such thatwhen the.

switch 51 occupies its open circuit position, the switch 57 alsooccupies its open .pigicuit position, but when the motor circuit iscompl "he switch 57 may be closed by energ. an actuating magnet 60,having a winding 61 and a movable armature 62 that is connected to themovable arm 58 by means of a link 63. ,In starting the motor, the switch51 may be manually closed by means of an actuatin" red 64 that does notinterfere with the ree operation of the switch under normal conditionsby reason of a spring 65 which holds the adjacent end of the rod out ofrange of the switch.

The chamber 2 may preferably be constructed as illustrated in Fig. 6,-which is a sectional elevation of this portion of the device, the uppercylindrical surface being provided with a plurality of grooves or sawcuts 66 in order to direct the air into the holes 67, which may besomewhat irregularly located. A smooth contact surface, over which themusic strip 3O may pass, is p1'0 vided by a sheet metal plate 68 that isbent to conform in shape to the surface of the chamber and is providedwith a series of slots or openings 69 through which air may.

be admitted tothe slots 66, when perforations in the music stripcoincide with these may be omitted if the holes 67 are regularly locatedand are provided with sharp edges so that their coincidence with theholes in the music strip may be well defined. A comb or notched. strip70, of conducting material, is supported upon a ledge 71 in the chamber2 and extends substantially throughout its length. The projections orteeth of the comb form independent, resilient fingers a, b, 0, (Z, c, f,g, h and 2' which may be moved into engagement with stationary contactpoints 72 by pins 73that are fitted loosely into the holes. 67 andarestupon the contact fingers,

The sheet. metal plate.

ends of. the pins.

magnet winding 75 which encirclesv one leg of the core. The core member74 is pro- {vided with a 'znagnetizable strip 76 that is rotatablyattached to the core proper and is adapted to icompletely close themagnetic fcircuit whena magnetic field is produced by energizing thewindings 75. This movable member is mechanically connected to one of thepiano keys 77 by means of a wire or strip'78, the lower extremity of.which is hooked intoengagement with an eyelet 79- that is attached tothe piano key. The del sired result may obviously be obtained with equalfacility, whether the magnet is located above the key and its movablemember is cbnnected'to it at a point between its'fu-lcrum and its innerend, as shown, or whether the magnet is located below the key and itsmovable member is connected to thekey between its fulcrum and its outerend. The position of the magnets will, of course, be determined by thestyle of instrument to which the player is attached. The space occupiedby one of the electromagnets 73? is materially greater than the width ofa sinle 'key plus the distance between adjacent eys, and, consequently,adjacent electromagnets are staggered in a well-known 4U manner.

In obtaining the expression, particularly variations in the tempo andtouch, a devlce similar to that illustrated in Fig. 5 may advantageouslybe employed. This device comprises-a plurality of stationary contactring segments 80 which are fixed to aninsulating plateor slab 81, arotatable engaging contact arm82, a ratchet wheel 83 fixed and a pawl 87which is pivotally attached to the outer extremity of the armature 86thereto, an electro-magnet 84 having a winding 85 and a pivotallymounted armature 86,

and is held in engagement with the ratchet wheel 83'by means of aspring'88.

Assuming that a music strip is wound on the roll 3 and that its looseend is passed over the curved surface of the chamber 2 formed by theplate 68' and is attached to the roll 4, the electric motor 11 may be istarted by manually actuating the rod 64 to close the switch 51.

' The motor 11 may be of any suitable type having a variable speedcharacteristic and may be supplied with energy from any suitable source.The circuit connections for-the in Fig. 5.

motor, which, as illustrated in Fig. 9,'is a' compound wound motor ofthe direct current type, may be traced as follows: Energy is suppliedfrom-a relatively high voltage source of electrical energy,such"as ashunt generator 89, through a variable resistance and switch 51 to themotor 11. The variable resistance 90 is intended to etfecta speedregulation of the motor rather. than to serve as a starting rheostat,and in case an alternating current motor is employed for driving thedevice, this resistance can be replaced by an auto-transformer or othersuitable means for varying the voltage applied to the motor circuit.Asillustrated,

the resistance 90 is controlled-by a device, such as that shown ona'larger scale in Fig. 5, and, under normal conditions, the movablecontact arm occupies a position such that approximately half oftheresistance is included in the motor circuit and, therefore, a speedvariation ispermittedin either direction. A reasonable amountof themusicstrip may preferably be left without per forations, sothat the motor.may have an opportunity to accelerate, and, when normal conditionsobtain, the music-strip will be traveling over the holes 69 in the plate68 at a substantially constant speed. As predetermined perforations inthe sheet pass over the'holes oorrespondingto the desired keys, certainof the pins 73 are given a downward motion so that the correspondingcontact fin ers engage the stationary contact terminals 2. A circuit is'now completed through any convenient source,'such as a storage battery91, illustrated in Fig. ,9, to the comb or notched stri tionary contactterminals 2, and conductors 92, to magnet windings 75 of theelectromagnets 73*, the circuits being completed from thesepoints'through a single resistance 93 to the negative terminal of thebattery.

The resistance 93 is representative of ja ny suitable voltage-varyingmeans and may be mechanically arranged, as thedevice shown In this case,as before, 'under normal conditions, the movable contact arm occupiessuch a position that approximately one half the resistance is includedin the circuit.

Inasmuch as the function of the pedals in a piano is'well known, I deemit unnecessary to describe their action here, butin my automatic device,these parts are actuated, as;

illustrated in Fig. 9, by means of electromagnets 94:, 95 and 96.Thesemagnetsare provided with windings 97,98 and 99 and movable coremembers 100, 10-1, and 102 that are severally connected tothejpedal-actuat: ing rods by means of links- 103. ,The magnet windings97, 98 and 99 maybe energized selectively by the closure of controlswitches 104, 105 and- 106. These switches are elec-* trically operated,being equipped w th mag 70, throughstanet windings 107, 108 and 109,which, in turn, may be energized when contact fingers d, e and f aremoved into engagement with their cooperating stationary contactterminals 72. It will be readily understood that the desired pedalaction may be effected.

by providing suitable perforations in the music strip 30 for selectivelyapplying airpressure to the pins 7 3 that correspond to the contactfingers.

The regulation of the tempo is effected by increasing and decreasing theactive portion of the resistance 90, and the touch or the force withwhich the hammers or strikers are actuated may be varied by decreasingor increasing the active portions of the resistance' 93. The regulationof the resistance 90 and the regulation f the resist: nce 93 arerespectively dependent upon the actuation of the contact fingers h and gand are similarly effected, so only one will be de' scribed in detail,reference being had to Fig. 5 in connection with the diagram of Fig. 9.The magnet winding 85 is energized directly from the battery 91 whencontact finger It moves into engagement with its stationary contactterminal 72, and the resulting 'motion of the armature 86 effects therotation of the contact arm 82 from one of the contact ring segments 80to the next adjacent segment by reason of the engagement of the pawl 87with the ratchet wheel 83, the number of teeth on the ratchet wheelcorresponding to the number of ring segments. It will be readilyunderstood that, with the arrangement shown, rotation of the movablecontact arm can only be efiected in one direction, but, by providing aseries of perforations in the music strip, the contact arm may be movedfrom one ring segment to any other desired ring segment so quickly thatno perceptibly undesirable effect on the music will result. For example,a single perforation will, of course, move the arm in a clockwisedirection from one ring segment to the next adjacent ring segment, and

' on the other hand, five perforations, close together, in a directline, on the music sheet will virtually effect a counter-clockwisemovement from any one contact ring segment to the next adjacent contactring-segment.

- plate 68 a single gizes the magnet windings 47 of the electromagnet-16 from the main source of energy. As soon as this magnet is energized,the bellcrank lever 33* is rotated through a small anglein opposition tothe spring 45 until the gear wheels 38 and 25 become disengaged from thegear wheels 29 and 24, and the gear wheel 40 moves into engagement withthe gear wheel 28. As soon as these conditions obtain, the roll 3 isrotated'in a reverse direction from its normal playing motion and,consequently, the music strip is rewound ,upon theigoll 3. A repetitionof the musical notes in a reverse order is prevented by the equalizationof the air-pressure within. and without the chamber 2 which follows thedisengagement of the gear wheel 25 from the gear wheel 24; and thestopping of the exhaust pumps.

The screw-threaded rod 31, which is driven from the roll 4c, isprovidedwith a traveling nut 112, which is provided with a pawlprojection 113 to engage the arm 52 of the switch 51 and move itslightly in order that the spring 56 may move it to its open-circuixtposition when the music strip has been entirely rewound upon the roll 3.In this way, the motor is employed for rewinding the music strip ontothe original roll, and, after this action is complete, the motor cir--cuit is interrupted. A slight movement of the arm 52 by the projection113 is sufiicient to enable the spring 56 to separate the contact member53 from the terminal 54:,ar'1d,

thereupon, the nut 112 immediately stops in such position as to permitthe rod 6 1 to engage the arm 52 and move it to its circuitclosingposition when desired.

I claim as my invention:

'1. In an automatic musical instrument, the combination with a pneumaticchamber having a set of holes through one wall, a roll or cylinderrotatably mounted at each side of the chamber, and a perforated strip orfilm wound on one roll, of a pump for exhausting the air from thechamber, a motor for driving both the pump and the rolls, and meansdependent upon predetermined perforations in said strip or film forreversing the rolls and for disconnecting the pumpfrom the motor.

2. In an automatic musical instrument, the combination with a pneumaticchamber having a set of holes through one wall, a roll or cylinderrotatably mounted ateach side of the chamber, and a perforated strip orfilm wound on one roll, of a pump for exhausting the air from thechamber, a motor for driving both the pump and the rolls to wind thefilmv from one roll to the other, means for reversing the rolls torewind the strip and for disconnecting the pump fromthe motor, and meansfor automatically bringing the motor to rest when the rewindingoperation is completed.

3. In an automatic musical instrument, the combination with a pneumaticchamber having a set of holes through one wall, a roll or cylinder rotaably mounted at each side of tire chamber and a perforated strip or filmwound on one roll, of a pump for exmotor, and meansdependent upon theopenhausting the air from the chamber, a motor for driving both the pumpand the rolls, and an eiectro-responsive device for revels ing the rollsand for disconnecting the exhaust pump from the motor.

4. In an automatic musical. instrument, the combination with a pneumaticchamber having a set of holes through one Wall,

spring contact fingers disposed in the chamber, actuating pins thatengage the fingers and project loosely into the holes in the chamberwall, a roll or cylinder rotatably' mountedfat each side of the chamber,a perforated strip or film wound on one roll, an exhaust pump for thechamber, and an electric motor for driving the pump and for transferringthe strip or film from one roll to the other and over the holes in thecham ber, of an electro-responsive device for reversing the rolls andfor disconnecting the exhaust pump from the motor, anelectrically-operated circuit interrupter for the ing of the motorcircuit for deinergizing the electrc-re'sponsive device.

5. In an automatic musical instrument,

the combination with a pneumatic chamber.

having a set of holes in one wall, a roll mounted at each side of thechamber, pumps for exhausting the air from the chamber,- and a motor fordriving the pumps and for actuating the rolls in one direction, of aperforated strip or film wound on the rolls and stretched over the holesin the chamber, and means controlled by the stripor film toautomatically reverse, the rolls and stop the pumps and to finallyinterrupt the motor circuit.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 18th dayof March,- .1907.

NORMAN G. MEADE. Witnesses:

R. J. DEARBORN,

BIRNEY HINES.

